Successful businesses do not assume that things will work themselves out over time. Instead, business owners and management work to develop a set of long-term goals for where they want their businesses to end up and how they picture getting there. A strategic framework serves to provide structure to this type of long-term planning by focusing on four key elements: vision, mission, time frame and objectives.

Vision Statement

A vision statement typically provides a picture of future that assumes the organization achieves its strategic objectives. On the whole, vision statements try to briefly summarize the picture, while providing a motivational element. For example, a computer company might set out a vision statement along the lines of, "To see a state-of-the-art computer in every home in America." The vision paints a clear picture of a future where no American home lacks a top-shelf computer. Of course, the vision statement as an idealized embodiment of policy and goals pays no attention to the infeasibility of the vision in order to retain the motivational element.

Mission Statement

The mission statement also handles the question of the company's purpose, but in a more realistic fashion. Mission statements set out the reasons that businesses exist and what they hope to achieve. Effective mission statements contain a number of important elements, but typically communicate the essential priorities of the business, such as product manufacturing, the markets the business will serve and values to which the business adheres. Returning to the fictional computer company, the mission statement clarifies that the company intends to build and distribute computers through retail outlets for middle class households and emphasize customer service.

Strategic Time Frame

The strategic time frame refers broadly to the amount of time the company intends to spend pursuing medium- and long-term goals. Establishing a strategic time frame provides every member of the company a common frame of reference. The vast differences in the way businesses in different industries operate make generalizations difficult, but a typical strategic time frame runs around five years.

Strategic Objectives

In simplest terms, strategic objectives constitute goals for the company to achieve. A company may pursue a number of strategic objectives at any given time, on shorter and longer timetables. In terms of the strategic framework, the strategic goals include both elements already in place and elements yet to be finished. For example, the fictional computer company may set a goal to distribute to computers through three major retailers within five years. To achieve this goal, the company must build or buy, as well as staff, facilities to produce sufficient stock to meet demand. It must also broker deals with the retailers and establish the means of moving the stock from manufacturing facilities to the retailers. Each element represents a strategic objective that the business must achieve to serve the broader mission and vision statements.